Sins of the Father
by Seraina
Summary: Nearly 20 years after the book ends. Erik's son Alexei goes above ground. The manager loves him like a son. The ballet girls beg sweets from him. And a new diva, Caroline du Chagney, is quite taken with him. But why is Erik so depressed?
1. Default Chapter

By Seraina.

Not mine. Alexei and Caroline are mine, but everyone else belongs to others.

Sins of the Father

_"Every day a new deception  
Pick your scene and take direction  
And all in all I search to connect   
But I don't wear a mask and I have no regrets"_  
"Fly from the Inside" Shinedown 

1 - Children of Ledgends

_"Erik is Dead"_

That was the advertisement in the _Époque_. Christine watched him die or did she? He could have easily just lapsed into a deep sleep. It served him better to have her think him dead. So that she could be with the Vicomte. The foolish boy who had only wanted to take her away from the opera. Away from Erik. 

Erik did not die. Though he was still ill. Nadir stayed by his side and nursed his only friend back to health. And as soon as he was well enough, Nadir took Erik away from Paris. Using Erik's funds, the journey wasn't too hard to arrange. Erik needed to be reintroduced to life. He needed to be saved. They told no one save Madame Giry, who he gave a box of English sweets and twenty francs for treating him so well. 

The managers went on with their business, not quite sure if there actually was an Opera Ghost or not. Christine and Raoul had been married shortly after the incident and moved into the Chagney estate. And everything returned into something resembling normal.

That is, normal until MM Richard and Moncharmin stepped into their office one evening, nearly six years after the "incident" and found a masked man in black and a five-year-old child waiting for them. 

"Gentleman, I have come to renew my contract," said the masked man. 

"And why would we need an Opera Ghost! We've had quite enough trouble without falling chandeliers and disappearing singers!" M Richard said forcefully. 

Erik absently turned over a few papers on the manager's desk. "It seems that the popularity of the opera is decreasing. Sales are down, gentlemen. While when I was employed here, it was very popular indeed."

"Times change Monsieur," Moncharmin said, turning over papers so that the "ghost" would stop prying into their business.

With a look at the small boy sitting on the floor of the office, Erik said, "Indeed they do, gentlemen."

*

Nearly twenty years after the "re-hiring" of Erik as the Opera Ghost, the opera was more or less back where they started. Even the promise of a haunted opera house did not sell the seats as it once did. It was the new century, and the opera was becoming out of fashion. 

Alexei sat at the large organ in his father's room and played a light piece, which he hoped to surprise his father with. His father, Erik, had gone out for supplies and was due back shortly. Alexei knew that something was bothering his father. He had hoped that it wasn't that woman again. Christine Daaé haunted his father even after all this time and occasionally Alexei wondered if he still loved her. Yes, loved her enough to let her marry the man she loved. Loved her enough to

Alexei didn't finish his train of thought. Unknowingly, he had stopped playing and listened for the sounds that meant that his father was home. The heavy steps meant that his father was indeed home. This particular heavy step meant that he was angry about something. 

"I must leave for a while," his father said at once. 

"Father?" Alexei called out, stepping out into the study. "Is something the matter?" Fear crossed the young man's face, "Will you leave me here alone?"

"I'm sorry, my beloved, I must do this alone," he said softly. The new Siamese cat sat on the bench beside Alexei. His father stroked the crème colored kitten and gave a soft sigh.

"I suppose so, father. I would not want to keep you from your business," Alexei said somewhat dejectedly. "When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow this will be over," Erik said and packed a small bag of everything he needed.

*

M Armand Moncharmin paced his office. Ever since Firmin Richard had died last winter, it had been hard to manage the failing opera. He was to meet with another candidate this morning and the man was late. He turned around again and started at the young man that was sitting at his desk. 

"Alexei! You gave me a start! What are you doing here? Don't you know I have an appointment?" Moncharmin said quickly. He had softened in the years since the "incident" and treated Alexei as his own son. He even introduced the boy as his godson, which was partially true: he did look after the boy when he was aboveground in the opera house. Besides, saying that he's the son of the famous Opera Ghost led to some rather uncomfortable questions. 

"Father left on business today," Alexei stated as he vacated the chair and sat on the couch in the corner of the office. "I had nothing to do, so I decided to pay a visit to mon oncle."

Moncharmin smiled at the boy as he settled himself on the couch and turned to the manager and smiled. _If only I could hire him as my partner_, Moncharmin thought. _But no one will take him seriously; a fool cannot carry out all the duties of manager. _

A knock at the door startled the manager out of his thoughts. "Come in," he said to the door, noticing that Alexei was no longer in the office with him. _Fool or not, he's as slippery as his father_, Moncharmin thought as he ushered the applicant into the office.

*

Producing an apple out of one of his coat pockets, Alexei lightly walked down one of the many passages within the walls of the opera. He didn't want to stick around during the meeting; business didn't interest him much. Alexei was a musician, an illusionist and a clown. He was more a child than the little ballet girls in the room on the other side of the wall. 

Pushing aside the trap door while holding his half-eaten apple in his mouth, Alexei snuck into the shadows of the little studio where the dancers practiced. He got behind the girls and bit into his apple content to watch them warm up. His amber eyes shone with mischief as he finished his apple and rolled the core under the row leader's feet. 

The little girl stumbled over the apple core and fell into the next girl and they all toppled like dominoes. Meg Giry, in charge of the corps du ballet, spotted Alexei on his shadowy perch and put her hands on her hips. 

Meg was the only other one who knew that Alexei was Erik's son. The little girls trembled at the mention of the dreaded phantom. "You may take a break girls. But learn to not trip over things so easily," she said to the little pink ruffles as they fled the room.

"Is there anything that I can do for you today, Mlle Giry?" Alexei asked as he stepped from his hiding place.

"You can not trip my dancers for one," she said, looking the young man over. "Will you be going to the auditions today?"

"There are auditions today? Has Oncle Armand finally fired that wailing cow?" Alexei said, brushing black locks from his face. 

"Yes, and I think he would like for you to be there," Meg said. It was no lie that Alexei had an ear for talent. He was trained by the best. And the managers always listened to what Alexei had to say. The opera house was his kingdom and he was the crowned prince. 

"Tell him that I will be listening, but I have no desire to meet another would-be manager," he stated firmly. He might not be able to restrain himself if his father was brought up in the conversation. The last hopeful was nearly killed for calling his father a fake and a fool.

Meg nodded and the young man she regarded as a cousin or a nephew slipped back into the shadows. "Hey, wait!" she called.

"Yes?" the shadows answered.

"Next time, do try not to get caught!" she called into the shadow.

*

Caroline du Chagney looked over at her mother again. She had been excited for her daughter when Caroline had announced her audition at the Paris Opera. But her mother had become increasingly agitated. 

"Mother? What's wrong?" she asked her mother.

"It's nothing, dear. I'm just nervous for you, that's all," she said.

They soon reached the opera house and started inside the beautiful building. Caroline was starting to get nervous as well. She suddenly felt that she shouldn't be there and she just barely suppressed the urge to run back home. 

But she couldn't. Her father, Vicomte Raoul du Chagney, died recently and unexpectedly left the family in great debt. He had told no one of their financial troubles and left her mother to take a job as a seamstress. Her older brother, Charles was still in England, trying desperately to find some financial support. 

Caroline knew that her mother could probably still out sing any of the hopefuls, but for one reason or another, she refused to sing. But she just thought that it had something to do with her father and put it out of her mind. 

"Monsieur Moncharmin?" she asked an older man, holding a pile of papers in his hands.

"Yes? Hello," he said distractedly as he directed scene-shifters to clear the stage.

"Do you not remember me Monsieur?" she asked with a smile.

Moncharmin looked up and adjusted his glasses. "Christine? Christine Daaé? Os that you, dear?"

"Yes, but it is Christine du Chagney now. It's been a long time Monsieur."

"Of course it is. Where is my head? And where is that boy?" he shouted to a dancer.

"He said that he will be here shortly. He said that he will be listening," the dancer replied. 

"Sorry dear, since M Richard died, it has been hard managing things. He knew the music and I was the business. 'The boy' I speak of is a genius when it comes to talent. But he is a bit irresponsible at times," he said, leading Christine into the house.

"I'm sorry M Moncharmin, this is my daughter Caroline. She hopes to audition today," Christine said.

"Ah, of course, of course. If you would follow Mlle Giry, she'll take you backstage," he said handing Caroline off to Meg Giry.

*

Alexei shifted his position slightly, trying to get comfortable on the grid above the stage. There wasn't much of a view, but it was a good spot to not be seen. He loosened his collar and shrugged off his coat. It was getting unbearably hot up there. He might have to speak with the stage manager about that. 

There were a few possible candidates so far, but there were still quite a bit more girls to hear before he made a decision. But for some odd reason it was getting harder and harder to concentrate. His left hand started to feel numb.

"My name is Caroline du Chagney and I will be singing"

Alexei could no longer hear the separate words. But that voice was so beautiful and he wanted to sleep so badly

The next thing he knew was that he was slipping off his seat into the stage below. His strength leaving him, he grabbed a counter-balance rope and held on tightly. He would have made it, save for the sudden pain in his chest made him lose his grip on the rope and fall the last six feet. He didn't register the screaming girl or Moncharmin kneeling over him. 

On the verge of passing out, he managed to say one word, "_Her_," before the blackness enveloped him.  



	2. Meeting of Minds

By Seraina.

Not mine. Alexei and Caroline are mine, but everyone else belongs to others.

Sins of the Father

_"Every day a new deception  
Pick your scene and take direction  
And all in all I search to connect   
But I don't wear a mask and I have no regrets"_  
"Fly from the Inside" Shinedown 

2 - Meeting of Minds

Moncharmin heard the counter-balance hit against the set pieces. He watched the boy swing dangerously on the rope. He held his breath as the boy fell at least five feet to the floor. He wasted no time in rushing to Alexei's side. Pushing young Caroline out of the way, he checked Alexei's breathing. Moncharmin felt the fear rise in him. If Alexei should die, then Erik would, no doubt, hurt himself and others. But this is the fear that comes whenever the young man had one of his attacks. When the boy had his first serious attack, Erik had been quite adamant about his staying underground, but Alexei loved wandering around the opera house and pestering the ballet girls.

"Alexei, come on. Stop scaring me like this," Moncharmin muttered to the unconscious young man as he picked up the very thin young man. "_He_ will kill me if anything should happen to you."

"Monsieur?" came a timid feminine voice.

"Yes, Caroline?" he asked, absently stroking the raven hair from the young man's brow.

"Who is he?" the young woman asked, gazing down at Alexei's handsome features.

"He is my godson."

*

Christine was frozen with horror. She thought that the fallen man might be Erik. _No! Erik is dead_, she thought to herself as she approached the stage cautiously. She took a deep breath as she leaned over Meg Giry's shoulders and peered at the young man's face. He was a handsome man of around twenty years. His eyes were closed, but his long dark hair framed his pale face, as it had come undone when he fell. 

Christine felt horrible for being happy that this young man was laying on the stage instead of Erik. But she heard her daughter ask, "Who is he?" 

"He is my godson," M Moncharmin replied, concern in his eyes. 

Christine thought back to when Erik had his attack. It was similar, but she supposed that the young man had it worse because he happened to fall onto the stage below. She was lost in her thoughts and almost didn't notice M Moncharmin pick up the thin man and carry him to his office. 

The manager laid the young man on the couch in his office. He then motioned the two women out of the office. Christine caught her daughter looking back at the sleeping man. M Moncharmin also noticed, because he said quietly, "Could you sit with him, while I speak to your mother?"

Caroline smiled and sat down in the chair facing Moncharmin's desk.

*

Alexei woke to a major headache, a dull pain in his chest and faint singing. He groaned, pulled his makeshift blanket around his head and rolled onto his side. The singing stopped, but the pain in his head and chest didn't. 

"Are you awake?" a distinctly feminine voice said close to his ear.

"No," he said, trying to bury himself and his headache in the darkness of the old black couch. He wished that she wasn't there, and then he could leave and go sleep in his own bed.

"If you can answer, then you must be awake," she said. He could hear the smile in her voice.

"Can't a man die in peace?" Alexei said into the couch cushion.

"You are not dying. If you were, I doubt that M Moncharmin would leave you alone to speak with my mother," she said, sitting on the end of the couch.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"My name is Caroline du Chagney. I was auditioning when you fell," she said the last part as if he were embarrassed.

"I didn't ask for your name. I asked what you were doing down there on the other end of the couch," he said, finally sitting up and looking at her with his amber eyes.

She looked down and found that she was tapping the couch with her foot. "Sorry."

"This was probably the most sleep that I've ever gotten in this opera house," Alexei said stretching as he got off the old couch. His head and chest still hurt, but at least he could stand without getting dizzy. "So, you were the one," he said, turning back to Caroline.

"The one?"

"The one singing. You're very good, if untrained," he said, idly glancing at the opera's account books.

"Untrained?" she said more than questioned. "I'll have you know Monsieur, that I was trained by my mother and she was trained by the best in all of Paris!" 

Alexei casually looked up at her with playful amber eyes. "And I'm sure that second-hand lessons are very prestigious these days, Mademoiselle," Alexei said sarcastically. He was about to say something more when the manager came back with Caroline's mother.

"Ah, Alexei, it's good to see you awake. I see you've met Mlle du Chagney," he said nodding at the young woman. She was doing a good job at hiding her anger. 

"Yes, we were discussing her audition. She is very good," he said, sitting down behind the desk. Alexei didn't mean to be rude to his onclé; he just didn't think his legs would hold him, so he fished in the drawers for a contract for Caroline. "I think that, with some training, Mlle du Chagney will be a star."

"So you're hiring her?" Moncharmin said, not a little shocked with the young man's display.

"Only with your permission, Monsieur. I can't seem to find the contracts," Alexei said, trying to hide the tremble in his hands. Moncharmin saw this and waved in dismissal. 

"We do not have any more, but I will have Rémy draw up another one for Mlle du Chagney," the manager said, distracting the women. "Can you stop by in three days? M Rémy is out of town on business and won't be back until then," he said, leading the two out of the office.

Alexei let out a sigh and thanked Moncharmin for his skill at diverting. He stood up on shaky legs and exited the office quickly and silently. He thanked his father for the ingenious alterations to the opera house.

*

It was two days before Alexei set foot in the opera house again. He felt better, having slept in his own bed, played his violin and relaxed in the home that his father built over thirty years ago. He wouldn't admit it, but he was hoping to see Caroline du Chagney again, but he promised himself that he would only speak with her if she saw him first.

Alexei walked past some chorus members and mumbled greetings and smiled as he passed. Whenever he was "visible" in the opera house, he affected a sort of wheeze around the employees. Everyone thought that he didn't have the stamina for dancing, the lung capacity for singing, or the strength for stage work. He did this so that the employees of the opera wouldn't think that he would take their jobs. Alexei was the "favorite" of the manager, but he didn't want to be hated for it. He wanted the others to leave him be, and they did, with minimal gossip. Everyone assumed that he was the unfortunate child of Moncharmin's mistress. They spoke of his "affliction" in vague terms, like everyone knew what was wrong with him. 

Alexei ambled past a few of the male dancers. Unfortunately, it was Bastien Grenmort and his lackeys. Bastien was the kind of ass to look down on his inferiors. If Alexei were his father, Bastien would have been dead shortly after he was hired. But he had a conscience that was inside his own head and he refrained from breaking the bastard's legs.

"If it isn't the godson, Alexei," Bastien sneered.

"Good morning, Bastien, how is rehearsal going? Still in the back row?" Alexei said, pushing past one of the mindless ballet goons.

"Why don't you dance for us, Alexei? I'm sure you can do much better, with you're gypsy roots," Bastien called.

Alexei stopped. It was true that a gypsy caravan held his father captive for years; the insult was enough. Though Alexei himself had no ill towards the Romany. He even had a friend or two among them. But Bastien was questioning his parentage, and Alexei would defend his father to the ends of the Earth. 

"Dance for some coins, Alexei!"

"Enough!" Alexei shouted as his fist came within centimeters of Bastien's arrogant nose. None of the dancers had ever seen anyone move so fast. But Alexei restrained himself from hitting the ass. He was being watched but a certain ballet mistress and he did not want to make any more trouble for himself.

"Alexei, M Moncharmin wishes to speak with you in his office," Meg Giry said, gesturing in the direction of the manager's office. "And you," she said to the dancers, "you should be on stage. Rehearsal has already begun." Meg marched the dancers into the studio and watched Alexei fume all the way to the office.


	3. Lessons and Permission

By Seraina.

Not mine. Alexei and Caroline are mine, but everyone else belongs to others.

Sins of the Father

_"Every day a new deception  
Pick your scene and take direction  
And all in all I search to connect   
But I don't wear a mask and I have no regrets"_  
"Fly from the Inside" Shinedown 

3- Lessons and Permission

Moncharmin took one look at Alexei and shuddered. Alexei had such a temper. He feared the boy would go on a rampage one of these days, and he prayed that nothing too expensive would be lost in the fury. He then remembered why he asked the young man into his office in the first place.

"Alexei, I want you to see that Caroline du Chagney gets lessons," he asked in what he hoped was a steady voice. The old manager didn't expect Alexei to be in such a foul mood.

"And who has the time to teach her? The music director, M Mancini has his hands full with that half-rate diva. Susanna can hardly screech an aria these days. All of the others have been let go. We are not making the money, even withthe Ghost. Shall I just go call on the Angel of Music to tutor her?" the young man said as he paced the small office.

"Well, I thought that you could teach her," the manager said meekly.

"No! I will not tutor that silly girl. Ask my father when he returns," Alexei said, sitting on the couch, "Maybe he will teach her once he finds out whose daughter she is."

"Ahh, so you do know the story," Moncharmin asked, trying to calm him down. Alexei glared sharply at him. This was going to take some tact.

"Of course I know the story. If my father hadn't been obsessed with that chorus girl then he wouldn't have had to" Alexei fell quiet. They didn't speak of his mother. It was a sore subject for both Alexei and Erik. But the feeling wasn't good. Whoever she was, she wasn't fondly remembered.

"Now, I know that you don't want to impose on any of the singers. Don't look at me like that. They all think that you're about as fragile as a crystal glass with a crack in the side. I'm saying that maybe you could teach her in secret. Maybe, if she were trained then What I'm trying to say is, Susanna is retiring. We need a new diva, Alexei, and we need an angel."

Alexei tried to be upset with the manager. He thought for a moment, stood up, sat down and sighed. "I will think about it. But I'm making you tell my father."

"Of course. Thank you. She came in yesterday to sign her contract," Moncharmin said, as Alexei was halfway out the door. "Oh and stop antagonizing my dancers!"

"I have nothing that they didn't deserve!" And Alexei was gone.

*

Christine gasped. The familiar figure of her former angel was leaning against the doorframe. A black mask covered his scarred face and a felt hat covered his head. "I didn't think that you would come, Erik," she said smiling sadly.

"Before before my husband died, he told me that you you were still alive." Christine bit her lip and looked down to the floor, "My son Charles... he is still in England. I wish that you could meet him. He reminds me of you."

Erik looked up at Christine's worn face. She shook her head. "Raoul had problems with money." She took the tea off of the stove and poured it in two cups. "He had many debts."

"Is this why you wrote to me?" Erik asked. "My God, Christine. Do you know how hard it is for me to be here? I had to make you bury me, believe me dead, so that I could let you go," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. 

"No, no that's not why. Erik" Christine took a pause to gather up her courage, "I was going to ask if it was alright for my daughter to sing in the Opera House."

"Why do you ask me such things," Erik said more than asked.

"Because I did not want you to be angry with her," Christine said quietly.

"Christine, you're still a child," he said with his angelic voice.

"Why did it take you so long to come?" she asked hesitantly.

"I had to visit someone..." Erik looked into his teacup, "it was his birthday."

*

Alexei sat in the odd corner of the opera house. He was still deciding what to do about Caroline du Chagney. He could openly teach her because that would lead to odd complications. Some things were better left alone and he couldn't jeopardize what he had going. It was too soon.

He could teach her by the way of the old mirror. But that may cause some problems when his father came home. It would also bring up memories of that chorus girl, Christine Daaé no, not Daaé. She married that other man Vicomte du Chagney. 

Alexei put his hands over his face. Then he cursed in several languages and then decided that fate was against him. "Sins of the father indeed." 

*

Erik avoided speaking with Moncharmin if he could avoid it. It had been almost seven years since he spoke to the man in person, long giving up the disembodied voice. They mostly communicated to written notes, and Erik had been less and less demanding in his later years. He sat in his chair in Box 5 and waited patiently for the manager to arrive. 

"I see that you are still alive, Erik," Moncharmin said. It took years after Erik's return to the opera house, but Moncharmin eventually ended up being one of Erik's few friends. 

"Unfortunately, Moncharmin, Unfortunately. There is a matter of a chorus girl"

"Yes, I know. Caroline du Chagney," Erik said, looking out at the chandelier. "I hear that she needs lessons"

"I have asked" Moncharmin stopped and watched his old friend. Erik was staring past the old chandelier and out into space. 

"You want me to teach her?" he asked dejectedly.

"Well, the thought crossed my mind," Moncharmin said.

"I haven't taught anyone since since Alexei I don't know if I can do it any more," he said. 

Moncharmin started at Erik thoughtfully. Erik never used that tone when speaking of his son. Maybe they had a falling out? Erik looked as if he were about to cry

"I miss his voice"

"Erik? Are you alright?" Moncharmin asked. Erik was acting very strange indeed.

"I am an old man, Armand. I cannot go teaching every chorus girl that auditions," he said, suddenly angry. His sudden melancholy turned into harsh anger at some unknown and unnamed person. Moncharmin decided to ask Alexei the next time that he saw him.

*

Caroline sat in her dressing room and looked at her mirror. The large mirror wasn't nearly as big as she imagined it to be. She pictured it to cover the entire wall, but it was just an ordinary mirror, only 5 feet tall by two feet wide. 

She suddenly wished that he brother was with her. His presence always calmed her always made her feel that she was good enough to do anything she put her mind to. But he wasn't there he was in England, playing for food probably. 

A soft knock on her door brought her back to reality. "Come in," she called.

"Excuse me Mademoiselle," it was Alexei. She wondered what his last name was. "M Moncharmin asked me to give your lessons if you're not busy right now"

"No, now is fine," she said and looked at Alexei once again. He was tall and thin, much like her brother. He had odd amber eyes and dark hair. In fact, he reminded her of Charles, they shared the same smile too.

"Do you know Faust? The part of Margarita?" he said, suddenly sitting on the floor.  



	4. Angel's Tears

By Seraina.

Not mine. Alexei and Caroline are mine, but everyone else belongs to others. Here's the last chapter.

Sins of the Father

_"Every day a new deception  
Pick your scene and take direction  
And all in all I search to connect   
But I don't wear a mask and I have no regrets"_  
"Fly from the Inside" Shinedown 

4 - Angel's Tears 

Caroline was improving with the lessons. Unfortunately, Alexei had to cut their lesson short because he wasn't feeling well. Alexei put a hand to his chest and staggered against the wall. No! Not yet! I'm not finished! His vision blurred and his thoughts became a jumble as blackness took him once again from the world of the living.

*

The opera was putting on _Faust_ again. And by some fate, Caroline was chosen to play the lead. She was looking all over the opera house for Alexei, to tell him the good news and to thank him for all of his wonderful help.

But she couldn't find him anywhere.

"Mlle Giry!" Caroline called when she entered the dance studio.

"Ah, hello Caroline," Meg said.

"Have you seen Alexei today?" Caroline asked.

"No, I haven't. Did you check with M Moncharmin?" the ballet mistress asked.

"I was just on my way," Caroline said with a smile. Although Alexei probably already knew that she had the part, she still wanted to see him. He made her feel appreciated wanted loved?

She thought about it again. Did she love Alexei? She couldn't think of a reason why she shouldn't love him.

Caroline knocked on the door to M Moncahrmin's office.

"Come in," he said from his desk.

"Hello M Moncharmin, have you seen Alexei today?" she asked sweetly.

"No actually. I haven't seen him since yesterday afternoon. I have some business that I want to discuss with him," he said.

"Oh. Do you think do you think that he is sick today?" Caroline asked hesitantly.

"Oh, I'm sure he's fine. He's probably with his father today. I'll tell him that you were looking for him when he comes in," Moncharmin said with a smile.

Caroline thanked her boss and left the office. Alexei was fine. He was just with his father. And she loved him. 

*

Erik unlocked the door to Alexei's room. The room that once belonged to Christine. The room that he remade for his son. There was a thick layer of dust covering the floor and the bed. 

Six years ago, Alexei sat at the old oak desk writing something beautiful. Or he would be playing his violin, or 

Or he would be laying in the large bed. He would be pale and clutching his chest. He would gasp for air and try to talk through the pain in his heart. 

Erik sat down heavily on the old bed. This was the bed that he was born in. It was the bed his mother died in. It was the bed where his son lay

In the end he couldn't bring himself to do it. Nadir was kind enough to give Alexei the relief that he desperately sought. Alexei didn't have to suffer very long. Alexei died peacefully. Six years ago at the age of nineteen.

*

Nobody had seen Alexei in three weeks. It was the opening night of Faust and Caroline was getting nervous. A knock on her door made her jump. She rushed over, hoping to see Alexei smiling down at her.

It wasn't him.

It was her brother Charles.

"Oh! Charles! I wasn't expecting you," she said, embracing her older brother.

"You don't have to sound disappointed," he said, smiling down at her.

"Well see" she started awkwardly.

"I understand that you're nervous. I just wanted to wish you luck before the show," he said. "Mother is waiting for me in the lobby. After the show, we'll go to supper."

"Yes, it has been too long," she said as he brother left her dressing room.

*

"I'm surprised that you asked me to sit with you, Erik," the manager said, sitting beside the opera ghost.

"I do like _Faust_. And I hear that that girl has improved. Who did you find to tutor her?" Erik asked.

"Well, I asked a few good tutors, but none of them have reported back to me. I have no idea who is teaching her," Moncharmin replied with a shrug.

They two old men watched the opera in silence, both thinking about the young chorus girl playing the lead.

  
*

The performance went beautifully. Caroline sang like an angel. But the night wasn't over yet. Christine and Charles stood outside Caroline's dressing room for fifteen minutes before Charles forced the door open. 

The room was empty. The door had been locked from the inside. Christine stood frozen in front of the large mirror that covered the wall. And she knew where her daughter had gone.

*

Erik sat down in his study. The memories were almost overwhelming. He could feel the tears threatening to roll down his face. 

"Where did you go?" a feminine voice asked the darkness.

Erik replaced his mask and followed the familiar voice. "Who is there?" he asked the intruder.

"Hello? I'm lost and Alexei?" she asked, groping in the darkness.

Erik sucked in a sharp breath when she called the name of his deceased son. He quickly lit one of the lamps to see who she was.

"Caroline du Chagney. What do you know of of my son?" he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Alexei led me down here. I he disappeared I'm sorry to intrude, monsieur," she said, looking down at the floor.

"You are a liar!" he said, grabbing the frightened girl by the shoulders. "YOU LIE!"

"ERIK!" came Christine's shout. She was followed closely by her son. "What are you doing to my daughter?" she asked, marching between her scared daughter and the enraged and surprised Erik.

"I only only followed A-Alexei h-here," Caroling sobbed, her brother comforting her.

Erik slumped into the old couch defeated. "Alexei my son is dead. He has been gone for six years. How can you say that you've seen him?"

"But I have! He was in the opera house when I auditioned. He fell from the catwalk when he had an attack. He was the one to give me lessons. It was Alexei who told M. Moncharmin to give me the lead," Caroline sobbed.

"Father?" a weak voice said from the old bedroom. 

Erik turned to see the apparition of his son walking toward him. "Alexei?"

"I it hurt me to leave you so hurt. I did everything I could to try to make you happy. I" the ghost sighed and gave a weak smile. "Father, Charles is your son. I thought that you would have figured it out on your own."

Erik looked from the ghost to Charles and studied the young man intensely. His face looked so familiar

Alexei gestured to the drawer where Erik kept the pictures of his parents. "My God" Erik gasped, tearing out the drawer for the picture. 

Charles and his father looked identical. 

"I thought that if I could bring the two of you together I'm sorry Caroline. I didn't want to use you so terribly," Alexei said as his image flickered.

"B-but Alexei I love you," she cried approaching the ghost.

Alexei looked ashamed and he turned from her. But his shame turned into anguish as his form flickered once again. "I stay," he gasped.

Erik looked at his dead son with a pained look in his eyes, "I'm sorry, my beloved," he said quietly.

"I know father you did what you thought was best," he said. "I love you father."

As Alexei faded, the solemn family stood in the lonely house under the opera house. 

"Erik?" Christine said, "I think you should make some tea, this is going to be a long night."

Erik stood and made Russian tea while Christine started to tell the story of the opera house and the Phantom. "I was young and the new managers hired me as a chorus girl"   


End 


End file.
